Coronavirus budget will be 'strongest-ever economic stimulus', Abela says

The multi-million euro budget the government will be announcing on Monday, to address the impact of the coronavirus, will be the country's "strongest-ever economic stimulus package", Robert Abela said.

The Prime Minister said in an interview on ONE TV today that the budget would be geared towards reviving Malta's economy.

While Abela did not supply many details, he said that the budget would included measures to incentivise businesses, as well as those targetted towards the consumer, such as those encouraging people to go on weekend breaks and to dine in restaurants.

"Tomorrow we will put in place measures which will incentivise businesses," he said. "...And if, for instance, someone used to like going on weekend breaks, we'll help them to do so. If they used to eat out a couple of times a week, we'll assist them in doing so."

Abela said the package to aid businesses was only possible because the enterprises had managed to survive in the first place, due to the fact that the government had not put in place a total COVID-19 lockdown at the height of the pandemic.

"The economy and businesses showed they were resilient, and unemployment was controlled... The results show we were brilliant, both from a health and economy perspective," he said.

Businesses which did even better than usual during the coronavirus crisis would also be rewarded for having been innovative he said.

"And, most of all, it will be a package which gives to the people, not takes from them," he added.

The budget will come after a series of financial aid packages and wage supplements which were given to businesses and workers in the past months, which were aimed at mitigated COVID-19's impact.